What are the smartest U.S. states?

Start Slideshow

Image for article titled The 10 smartest states in America — Photo: Justin Lewis (Getty Images)

There’s no real way to measure the intelligence of a population, but a research team at the testing platform BrainManager tried.

It attempted to figure out the smartest states in the U.S. based on 19 indicators, grouped into three categories: academic success, learning culture and support, and innovation and technology.

Some of the factors it looked at include average SAT & ACT scores, literacy rates, bookstores per capita, number of research institutions, college graduation rates, and average IQ.

While the study obviously ignores plenty of other measures of intelligence, it did find some surprising results.

Check out which states made the top 10 and why.

Previous Slide

Next Slide

2 / 12

#10: Minnesota

Minnesota came in tenth place thanks partly to its high academic success rate.

Previous Slide

Next Slide

3 / 12

#9: Colorado

Colorado came in ninth place, with the second-highest number of college graduates in the country and a thriving technology industry.

Previous Slide

Next Slide

4 / 12

#8: Maine

Maine ranked eighth thanks to high scores for learning culture and support and for its strong reading culture.

Previous Slide

Next Slide

5 / 12

#7: Alaska

Alaska ranked seventh thanks to its top learning culture and high literacy scores.

Previous Slide

Next Slide

6 / 12

#6: Wyoming

Wyoming took sixth place thanks to high numeracy rates, many bookstores per capita, and some of the highest rates of library visits in the country.

Previous Slide

Next Slide

7 / 12

#5: Washington

Washington ranked fifth with strong learning culture scores.

Previous Slide

Next Slide

8 / 12

#4: New Hampshire

New Hampshire ranked fourth thanks to having the highest literacy and numeracy rates in the nation.

Previous Slide

Next Slide

9 / 12

#3: Connecticut

Connecticut nabbed the third place spot thanks to strong academic success and high-quality education.

Previous Slide

Next Slide

10 / 12

#2: Vermont

Vermont took second place with strong literacy scores and a great culture of learning and support.

Previous Slide

Next Slide

11 / 12

#1: Massachusetts

Massachusetts took the top spot with the best academic success in the country and the highest average IQ.

The 10 smartest states in America

Although it's not easy to measure a population's intelligence, one group of researchers tried

#10: Minnesota

#10: Minnesota

#9: Colorado

#9: Colorado

#8: Maine

#8: Maine

#7: Alaska

#7: Alaska

#6: Wyoming

#6: Wyoming

#5: Washington

#5: Washington

#4: New Hampshire

#4: New Hampshire

#3: Connecticut

#3: Connecticut

#2: Vermont

#2: Vermont

#1: Massachusetts

#1: Massachusetts